Line of the Fang
by fringeperson
Summary: A stranger that his father calls 'Uncle' interferes at that crucial moment, and maybe Kakashi will find out why his father got the nickname of "White Fang" of Konoha. Oneshot, complete, don't own.


Hatake Sakumo raised the knife, ready to die for his sins, and brought it down, plunging it – but a firm hand caught his wrist before the knife reached his shirt.

"Sakumo," a deep, authoritative voice greeted neutrally.

The man gasped and dropped the knife. "Uncle," he answered, wide-eyed. "What... what brings you to...?"  
"Your aunt wants you," the other replied with a huff. "I have spoken with your Hokage Sarutobi, you are cleared to leave. I will stay and care for your son while you are gone."

"My son..." Sakumo said softly, as though he'd forgotten that he was a father.

"The last I was aware, your wife died of an illness, and your boy is not old enough to care for himself _yet_," stated the other, and arched an eyebrow pointedly at Sakumo, forcing the man to think of the further implications of his intended actions that night.

"Yes," Sakumo agreed softly. "Yes," he repeated. "Thank you, Uncle."

"Depending on the state of your son, and your own person when you return, I _may_ decide to stay beyond the time of your return. Now, fetch your son from the hallway and present him to me," he instructed.

"The hallway?" Sakumo repeated, shocked. "What is he doing there?"

"Fighting back any and all emotion as he hopes you do not kill yourself tonight, and determined to hold vigil over you in case you do," the elder stated plainly.

Sakumo hurried to his feet in a most ungraceful scramble and rushed to the shoji screen.

Indeed, there was his child, legs folded very properly beneath him and a determinedly stony expression on his young face.

"Kakashi," Sakumo said softly, his eyes wide and sad.

"Father," Kakashi answered, just as softly, though his expression didn't change.

"Kakashi, come in. There is someone you must meet," Sakumo instructed once he had swallowed twice and forced some moisture back into his mouth.

Kakashi stood obediently and followed his father into his office, where a strange and unfamiliar man stood and seemed to almost glow in the moonlight.

"Kakashi, this is your uncle, Inu no Taisho Sesshoumaru-sama," Sakumo presented softly. "Uncle, my son, Hatake Kakashi."

"Approach me, Kakashi," Sesshoumaru instructed.

Kakashi took two steps forward.

"Remove your mask, and let me look at you."

Kakashi's spine stiffened in surprise at the order, and his eyes went wide. He looked at his father, checking to make sure it was alright, and when Sakumo nodded, the boy raised nervous, shaking hands to the edge of his mask and pulled it down.

Sesshoumaru tilted the boy's face up so that he could examine it with greater ease.

"It has been many generations, but it seems, despite that, you take after Father," Sesshoumaru mused, and gently ran a claw-tipped thumb down over the jagged blue mark that adorned Kakashi's left cheek. There was a matching mark on his right.

A gentle tug on the boy's chin forced his mouth open, and Sesshoumaru nodded. At first glance, it was standard human dental structure, but a closer examination revealed that the child was gifted with slightly larger canines. His other teeth were sharper than was normally found in normal humans as well.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru decided. "You will do well," he informed Kakashi. "I will teach you while your father attends the matriarch of our family, rather than simply mind you. I hope you are not a fool," he added to the boy. "You have the potential to bear a greater Fang than your father carries."

"I'm already a genin," Kakashi answered firmly, though the reference confused him. He knew his father was called 'the White Fang of Konoha', though the reason had never been explained to him. Perhaps this strange relative he had been introduced to would educate him in regards to that. "And I'll be a chuunin soon," he added.

"Kakashi... is something of a genius, Uncle," Sakumo offered, hesitance warring with pride in his son. "And is the student of a man whose intelligence is almost comparable to your own."

"Ah," Sesshoumaru said with a definitely proud and very pleased smirk. "Even better. I can expect you to learn quickly, then," he informed Kakashi. "Go now, Sakumo. Pack. Your aunt may keep you for some time."

"Any idea how long?" Sakumo dared to question.

"She could well detain you for years," Sesshoumaru dismissed, uncaring of that detail. It would not be the first time such had been requested of his half-brother's offspring by their aunt. "Regardless, I will remain," he promised. His own honour dictated that he would not leave a member of his family vulnerable, however distantly related that family may now be, separated by several generations from the only child of his half-brother as they were. Still, the blood held true, and he would not abandon them to their fates.

Neither would their aunt, which was why Sakumo was being summoned by her.

As he watched his nephew prepare to leave, Sesshoumaru smiled to himself as thoughts of what his mate would have to say to the boy over his misplaced guilt circled his mind. The miko certainly had a way of dealing with people. It was why Sesshoumaru had mated her in the first place. A decision he had never regretted, even when InuYasha was spewing vitriol at the top of his lungs over the matter.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the boy, Kakashi. Yes, this boy had great potential. Perhaps he would even be the first in many generations to once again be able to truly wield the Tessaiga as InuYasha, the child's ancestor, had done. Perhaps he would be greater, and forge his own blade within himself, as Sesshoumaru himself once had.

Well, time alone would tell. Still, Sesshoumaru was almost certain that the boy would have a Fang to carry before Sakumo was permitted to return to him.

~The End~


End file.
